First time fishing!

[Seisage]

If you can believe it, I had never really been fishing before today. Or, well, I had tried my hand at catching some lake trout at one point a few months ago, but it didn't work out, so I'm just gonna go ahead and count this as my first time.

One of the classes at my institution had a planned charter trip and there was a free space that I definitely wasn't going to turn down. We fished mostly for rockfish and lingcod, and I have to be honest, it felt a little too easy... The boat had a fish finder sonar, so they took us directly to the fish. And, well, I suppose rockfish are just a little stupid because with almost no lure on the hook, all it took was sending the hook down to the bottom and reeling it back up. So, yeah, I think I'd actually prefer it to be more of a challenge. Having the fish finder just feels a bit too much like cheating. Great for commercial fishing, but not for sport fishing. Then again, this is a charter business, so it's in their best interest to make sure their customers catch something.

I ended up catching a couple blues, a black, and a canary. I knew beforehand that this charter company was going to let the rest of these fish asphyxiate. I'm not alright with that, so I made sure to bring a sharp screwdriver to use as a fish spike for the ones I caught. It was my first time killing fish this way and I wasn't perfect, but it was good practice. Their brains really are quite tiny and easy to miss...even when you know exactly where they should be. But at least it's easy to know when you do hit their brain because they immediately gape and flare their fins and then go still.

One of the deckhands caught a massive 3ft lingcod as well and was generous enough to give it to me since I was the only person aboard fishing for meat (the class is using the rest of the fish for educational purposes). It took me a while to process the fish because while I actually really like filleting, I'm not very practiced at it yet. I think I did alright for a beginner though.
Warning for some gruesome fish shots ahead...

The first one is the canary rockfish. I can't say my fillets are the prettiest, but I do make sure to get as much meat as possible. I really like getting the belly meat too. It's one of the best parts of the fish imo.

The fillets on the lingcod were absolutely massive. I don't know how many pounds, but they were quite heavy. Really good cheek meat on this one too.

 

[MattW]

Beer battered fish and chips for tea

 

[gwand]

My tanks aren’t big enough for that fish.

 

[Seisage]

Beer battered fish and chips for tea

Yes, exactly!

 

[jaylach]

LOL! You want a challenge? Find some bass and/or walleye water!

 

[jaylach]

Oh, to add on. @seangee ... Don't know how far north you are but another game fish that may be available is muskie and/or northern pike. These fish are killers, basically fresh water barracudas. Never ever try to remove a lure with just your hand while the fish is alive. They can literally turn your hand into hamburger. While these fish are excellent eating they are also a bit difficult to filet as they have a secondary free floating rib cage. Best way to filet is to do in three sections instead of the normal two. You do the back as a filet just above the free floating ribs then side fillets below the free floating ribs. You lose some meat with this method but avoid the very fine secondary ribs.

Another thing with muskies and northern pikes is tat they are a VERY oily meat. Due to the high oil level they make a totally awesome milk based chowder. If you like milk based clam chowder muskie or northern pike done he same as a chowder is even better.

 

[Seisage]

Oh, to add on. @seangee ... Don't know how far north you are but another game fish that may be available is muskie and/or northern pike. These fish are killers, basically fresh water barracudas. Never ever try to remove a lure with just your hand while the fish is alive. They can literally turn your hand into hamburger. While these fish are excellent eating they are also a bit difficult to filet as they have a secondary free floating rib cage. Best way to filet is to do in three sections instead of the normal two. You do the back as a filet just above the free floating ribs then side fillets below the free floating ribs. You lose some meat with this method but avoid the very fine secondary ribs.

Another thing with muskies and northern pikes is tat they are a VERY oily meat. Due to the high oil level they make a totally awesome milk based chowder. If you like milk based clam chowder muskie or northern pike done he same as a chowder is even better.

I think you tagged the wrong person on accident

Unfortunately, it seems like neither of those fish are even in my state, but I'll keep them in mind if I ever go fishing within their range. I do really like creamy style fish chowders. I should probably also get more skilled as a fisher first, before tackling one of them haha. They sound gnarly!